Channel Sponsor - Turnaround

Southwestern Eye Center: Using Airplanes to Save Treatment Time

For physicians responsible for providing care in remote locations, travel can take up a lot of time. At the Phoenix-based Southwestern Eye Center, private airplanes make trips much more efficient, according to a report from Fox News 10.

Southwestern Eye Center has 24 offices, and airplane trips allow physicians to provide care in far-away communities, which allows patients to receive exemplary care without leaving their communities, according to Shane Armstrong, the center's COO.

While the travel strategy may be unusual, it is standard for physicians at Southern Eye Care, who may travel back and forth between locations several times each week. The private flights to patients date back to the 1980s, when the center's founder began the practice. Flying physicians around the state of Arizona costs the center approximately $1 million per year, according to the report.